Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery completed their $110 billion merger, bringing the studios, television networks and streaming services under a combined company named Skydance.. The deal closed after nearly a year of negotiations, opposition and regulatory hurdles.
Skydance now controls two of the world’s largest film studios, while HBO Max and Paramount Plus are owned by the same company.. The combined company has nearly $70 billion in annual revenue. It will immediately carry $80 billion in debt following the merger, Variety reported..
Skydance said in a press release that it had committed to releasing 30 theatrical films a year across Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, along with more than 180 television shows and series.. The television networks now under Skydance’s control include CBS, CNN, MTV and Comedy Central, as well as TNT, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon..
The combined intellectual-property portfolio includes DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Mission: Impossible. Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Looney Tunes and SpongeBob SquarePants are also part of the portfolio.. “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Skydance CEO David Ellison said in a statement..
“From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality.”. Ellison announced last week that the combined company would adopt the Skydance name.
He used the same name for the first production company he formed in 2006.. The Warner Bros. acquisition follows Skydance’s $8 billion purchase of Paramount last summer. Skydance also successfully fought off competition from Netflix for Warner Bros..
Skydance will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SKYD on the day of the merger’s closing, while Warner Bros. Discovery shares cease trading on Nasdaq.. Featured image credit.
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